Signs of Rising Stocks in Central Pool Due to Robust Wheat Procurement

18-May-2026 08:18 PM

New Delhi: The Food Corporation of India (FCI), along with its associated state agencies, is procuring massive quantities of wheat from farmers in the country's major producing states during the current Rabi marketing season at a Minimum Support Price (MSP) of ₹2,585 per quintal. Consequently, the stock of this vital food grain in the Central Pool is steadily increasing, as a substantial carry-over stock of wheat was already present there.

In the top five states contributing the most wheat to the Central Pool—Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, and Rajasthan—the designated procurement targets have been achieved. Notably, in Haryana, wheat procurement has exceeded the set target by approximately 12 percent. In Madhya Pradesh, the pace of wheat procurement was initially very slow but subsequently accelerated significantly. Currently, over 75 percent of the designated target has been procured in the state, and the procurement process remains ongoing.

In comparison, wheat procurement has reached over 50 percent of the set target in Uttar Pradesh and over 70 percent in Rajasthan. In Bihar, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Chandigarh, government procurement of wheat takes place on a limited scale.

For the current year, the Union Ministry of Food has set a procurement target of 345 lakh tonnes of wheat. This target allocation includes 122 lakh tonnes for Punjab, 100 lakh tonnes for Madhya Pradesh, 72 lakh tonnes for Haryana, 25 lakh tonnes for Uttar Pradesh, and 23.50 lakh tonnes for Rajasthan. Additionally, a procurement target of 1.80 lakh tonnes has been set for Bihar.

The procurement targets for other states are relatively small. The Ministry had initially set a national-level procurement target of 303 lakh tonnes but subsequently revised it upwards by 42 lakh tonnes, fixing the final target at 345 lakh tonnes.